Women Executives Seen, But Not Heard: Report

May 22, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A new national
study finds that while a majority (82%) of women executives
find their listening skills to be a practical asset, over
half (55%) say that soliciting the opinions of others makes
them appear indecisive.

The study by The Leader’s Edge Research found that the
longer women had been in the workforce, the more likely
they were to believe that women are viewed as
indecisive.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) say that women don’t get credit
when offering the same good idea as men, while an identical
percentage say that women have trouble being heard in a
meeting dominated by their male counterparts.

Too Strong?

More than half (51%) the women surveyed say they have
been told their communication style is too aggressive for a
woman. While this tends to increase with seniority, it was
also cited by 40% of women with less than 15 years of
experience.

While nearly two-thirds (61%) of those surveyed took
individual credit for their achievements, rather than
attributing it to teamwork, 63% said men are better than
women at promoting their own successes at work.

Nearly half (49%) say it’s not necessary for a woman to
act more like a man in the workplace to be perceived as a
strong leader.